EMMITSBURG, Md. (February 28, 2021) – Mount St. Mary's men's water polo finished their inaugural campaign with a winning record and a third place finish in the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference West, thanks to Sunday's 11-10 win over Mercyhurst.
With five goals in the game, freshman
Jason O'Donnell surpassed 50 for the season.
Eli Thalos and
Kacper Cieplik also enjoyed multi-goal games. In net,
Marko Kruska recorded a season-high in saves with 17.
O'Donnell scored two in the first quarter, and paired with Thalos' tallies the Mount took a 4-3 lead. They scored the first goals of the contest before Mercyhurst could answer. With 4:59 left in the first half, Mercyhurst rallied to knot the score at five. But the Mount countered by drawing two exclusions, leading to goals from Cieplik and O'Donnell.
Mount St. Mary's defense shut out the Lakers in the third period, and O'Donnell fifth goal landed in the back of the net with 6:18 left in the game. Hopes for a comeback were slim for Mercyhurst, but they were able to trim the lead to three with two minutes remaining. Brennan Cumby scored for the Lakers to make it 11-9, and an exclusion seconds later allowed Teagen Thomas to score.
Their five goal advantage down to one, the Mount failed to produce an insurance goal but were able to melt the clock down to nine seconds. Mercyhurst set up a play during a timeout, but the time remaining proved too little, and the lob effort sailed over the crossbar, securing the Mount's win.
The victory ups Mount St. Mary's record to 5-4 for their first season.
Women's water polo begins its debut season next weekend. A schedule of games is set to be released during the week ahead.
Mount St. Mary's 11, Mercyhurst 10
SCOREBOARD 1 2 3 4 FINAL
Mercyhurst 3 2 1 4 10
Mount St. Mary's 4 4 2 1 11
Mercyhurst Goals: Gutman 2, Shaffer 2, Cumby 2, Kagen 2, Parnell 1, Thomas 1
Mount St. Mary's Goals: O' Donnell 5, Thalos 2, Cieplik 2, Twizell 1, Dable 1
